Electric lamp



March 22, 1966 M. w. TEMKIN ELECTRIC LAMP Filed March 1'7, 1964 INVENTOR. M Y R W TEMK N BY/ United States Patent 3,242,332 ELECTRIC LAMP Meyer W. Temkin, 1199 Linden Ave., Highland Park, Ill. Filed Mar. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 352,575 3 Claims. (Cl. 240-53) This invention relates to improvements in electric lamps.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric lamp that is particularly useful as an advertising display, and for this purpose the lamp may have one or more shades upon which advertising material may be imprinted.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lamp of the type stated in which the shade or shades are suspended centrally at pivot points, and wherein the shades have impellers located such that the shades are rotated by rising air currents created by the heat from an incandescent bulb Within the shades. As a result of the rotation of the shades, they attract attention and their value as an advertising display is enhanced. Where two shades are mounted, one coaxially within the other, the outer shade may have a transparent portion so that the advertising indicia on the inner shade is displayed therethrough.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a lamp of the type stated that includes a support and shade supporting bracket which are connected together by a swivel so that the support may rest upon a table, counter, or the like, or may be mounted upon a wall, and still permit the shades to rotate about a vertical axis. The brackets are, furthermore, connected to the swivel in such a manner as to insure proper balancing of the shades.

It is another object of the present invention toprovide an electric lamp of the type stated in which the support comprises a base section and a unitary hollow upright, the upper end of which receives the swivel. The base section is likewise hollow and receives a metal plate, and fastening means project into the plate, base section, and upright, for securing those three members together in an efficient and sturdy manner. The hollow upright facilitates reception of a lamp cord which also projects through the swivel for electrical connection to a lamp socket that is secured to the shade bracket.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lamp of the type stated in which one of the swivel sections is press-fitted into the upper end of the upright to lock permanently and non r'ot'atably that swivel section onto the upright. To accomplish this, the part of the swivel section that fits within the upright may be knurled, and the plastic at the upper end of the upright may be warmed after which the swivel section may be pressed into position so that upon cooling of the plastic, the swivel becomes locked in place.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a lamp of the type stated in which the swivel is designed so that the lamp cord may be readily fed therethrough from the upright to the lamp socket, thus eliminating the need for expensive and time-consuming wire fastening and splicing operations.

The attainment of the above and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a vertical partial section of an electric lamp 3,242,332 Patented Mar. 22, 1966 constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the spring clip that secures the shade brackets to the swivel, and which forms part of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, partially broken away and in section, and showing the lamp of the present invention mounted upon a wall.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention 1 designates a lamp comprising a support or stand 2 that includes :a base 3 and a tubular upright 5 of rectangular or other cross section. The base 3 and upright 5 are each preferably injection molded of high impact plastic which by way of example but not of limitation, may be a high impact polystyrene. The base 3 has a top wall 6 with an opening 7 that is of approximately the same size and cross sectional shape as the adjacent part of the lower end of the upright 5 for receiving same, as shown-in FIG. 1. Underlying the top wall 6 and surrounding the opening 7, the upright 5 has a flange 9 which integrally includes bosses 10'. The bosses 1t? surround and telescopically receive bosses 11 which are integrally formed on and depend from the underside of the top wall 6. Formed on the top wall 6 is an annular depending marginal skirt 13, and received within the base 3 and surrounded by the skirt 13 is a metal plate 14. Suitable fasteners 15, such as screws or rivets, project through the plate 14 and into the bosses 11 to secure the base 3, upright 5, and plate 14 into a sturdy assembly.

Mounted on the upper end of the upright 5 is a swivel 17 having a lower section 18 and an upper section 19, the two sections being pivotally connected by a screw 21 and wing nut 22 so that the sections 18, 19 pivot relative to each other about the longitudinal axis of the screw 21. The lower section 18 has a tubular stud 23 with a reduced shank portion 24 that projects into a sleeve 25 that is integral with the upper end of the upright 5. The stud 23 furthermore, fits flush against the top surface of the upright 5. As best seen in FIG. 3, the shank portion 24 may be undercut at 28, and the entire surface of the stud, or a portion thereof, may be roughened or knurled. In mounting the shank portion 24 within the sleeve 25, the plastic of the sleeve 25 may be warmed to expand it and make it flowable. Thereafter, the portion 24 may be pressed into the sleeve 25 so that after the plastic has cooled, the stud 23 will be locked permanently and non rotatably in position in the sleeve 25.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the adjacent ends of the swivel sections 1 8, 1? are in the form of companion hollow cylindrical members 26, 27 with their edges in abutting relationship to form a cavity 29. Furthermore, the nut 22 may be unthreaded from the screw 21 and the latter withdrawn from the swivel sections to leave the cavity 29 unobstructed when the two swivel sections are held together.

The upper swivel section 19 has an upwardly extending tubular stud 30 that has an axial shoulder 31 and a diametrally reduced portion 33 that projects above the shoulder 31. Mounted on the shoulder 31 is a shade bracket 34 3 through which the reduced portion 33 projects. The shade bracket 34 is firmly held against rotation about the axis of the stud 33 by a spring clip 35. This spring clip 35 is of generally U-shaped configuration and has a pair of arms 37, 37 that lie on either side of and bear against the shade bracket 34, and fingers 38, 38 which are oifset from the arms 37, 37 and which fit into opposed slots 39, 39 formed in the reduced portion 33. Thus, the shade bracket 34 is readily assembled with the stud 30 by simply placing the shade bracket 34 over the reduced portion 33 and pressing the spring clip 35 into place with the fingers 38, 3,8 in the slots 39, 39.

The shade bracket 34 may comprise a plurality of strips of metal 41, 42 suitably secured together as by a rivet 43.

At their upper ends, the strips 41, 42 are provided with axially aligned needles 45, 46 for supporting coaxial inner and outer cylindrical shades 47, 49. The shades 47, 49 have upper walls 51, 52 which are centrally provided with inverted cup-shaped bearings 53, 55 that receive the needles 45, 46 and providea relatively friction-free suspension for the shades 47, 49. The upper walls 51, 52 also are formed with vanes 57, 59.

A lamp socket 61 is suitably fastened to the strip 42 and an incandescent bulb 62 is mounted conventionally in the lamp socket 61. Heat from the incandescent bulb 62 produces rising currents of air which impinge upon the vanes 57, 59 causing the shades 47, 49 to rotate which may, if desired, be in opposite directions. These shades 47, 49 may have advertising matter imprinted thereon, and the outer shade 49 may have a portion thereof of transparent material so that the advertising matter on the inner shade 47 is visible therethrough.

A lamp cord 63 is threaded upwardly through the base plate 14 and hollow tubular upright 5, through the swivel 17 and is connected in a conventional manner, as by soldering to the terminals of the lamp socket 61. The fact that the screw 21 may be removed from the swivel facilitates feeding of the lamp cord 63 through the swivel 17.

The lamp may be mounted on a table, counter, or the like, or it may be mounted on a wall 65 or similar upstanding support 65. To this end, the plate 14 has a keyhole slot 66 so that a screw 67, mounted in the wall, can be used to support the lamps, as shown in FIG. 5. The skirt 13 may have a plurality of frangible knockouts at 69, 69 which are thin wall sections of the skirt 13. Depending upon where the lampis located, any one of the knockouts may be fractured to allow passage of the lamp cord 63.

To limit the rotation of the shade brackets relative to the support 2, the swivel is provided with internal stops 71, 72, 74, 75. The stops 71, 72 are on one swivel section while the stops 74, 75 are on the other. These stops are so located as to prevent rotation of the shade bracket relative to the support 2 beyond a predetermined amount. This prevents relative rotation to a point where the shades abut the support 2.

In compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes, I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention. It is, however, to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction herein shown, the same being merely illustrative of the principles of the invention.

What is considered new and sought to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An electric lamp comprising a support that includes a base and an upright, the base and upright each being unitary hollow pieces, said base having a top wall, said top wall having an opening for receiving one end of the upright and said one end of the upright having a flange adjacent to said top wall and to the opening, a plate, and fastening means projecting into the base and through the plate and said flange for securing the base, plate, and upright together, the other end of said upright integrally including a socket, a swivel having a pair of hollow companion members, one of the members being held in the socket by the frictional interfit between the exterior of the sleeve and the material of the socket, a shade-supporting bracket adapted to support at least one lamp shade and a lamp socket rigidly secured to said bracket, means for securing the bracket to the other member of the swivel, said means including a spring clip that engages said other member to restrain the bracket from rotation relative to said other member, and a lamp cord extending from. the lamp socket through the swivel and upright and projecting through the base plate.

2. An electric lamp comprising a support that includes a base and an upright, the base and upright each being unitary hollow plastic pieces secured together, said upright integrally including a socket at its upper end, a swivel having a pair of hollow companion members that together form an interior cavity of the swivel, means extending through the cavity for securing together the two members for rotation about an axis generally perpendicular to the axis of said socket, one of the members being a depending sleeve held in the socket by the frictional interfit between the exterior of the sleeve and the plastic of the socket, the other of said members also having a sleeve, the two sleeves providing communication with said cavity and the first mentioned sleeve providing communication with the hollow interior of the upright to form a continuous passageway through the upright and swivel, stop means in the swivel for limiting rotation of the members in either direction, a shade-supporting bracket adapted to support at least one lamp shade and a lamp socket rigidly secured to said bracket, means for securing the bracket to the second mentioned sleeve with the sleeve projecting through the bracket, said last mentioned means including a pair of opposed slots in said second mentioned sleeve, and a spring clip fitting into said slots and overlying the adjacent part of the bracket and restraining the bracket against rotation about the axis of said second mentioned sleeve; and a lamp cord extending from the lamp socket through the swivel and upright.

3. An electric lamp comprising a support that includes a base and anupright, the base and upright each being unitary hollow plastic pieces, said base having a top wall and a depending skirt surrounding the top wall, said top wall having an opening for receiving one end of the upright and said one end of the upright having a flange underlying said top Wall and surrounding and adjacent to the opening, a plate within the base and surrounded by the skirt and underlying said flange, and fastening means projecting into the base and through the plate and said flange for securing the base, plate, and upright together, the other end of said upright integrally including a socket, a swivel 'having a pair of hollow companion members that together form an interior cavity of the swivel, means extending through the cavity for securing together the two members for rotation about an axis generally perpendicular to the axis of said socket, said means being removable from both of the members to provide an unobstructed cavity when the two members are placed together, one of the members having a depending sleeve held in said socket by the frictional inter-fit between the exterior of the sleeve and the plastic of the socket, the other of said members also having a sleeve, the two sleeves providing communication with said cavity and the first mentioned sleeve providing communication with the hol-- low interior of the upright to form a continuous passageway through the upright and swivel, stop means in the swivel for limiting rotation of the members in either direction, a shade-supporting bracket adapted to support at least one lamp shade and a lamp socket rigidly secured to said bracket, means for securing the bracket to the second mentioned sleeve with the sleeve projectingthrough the bracket, said last mentioned means including a pair of opposed slots in said second mentioned sleeve which define a plane generally perpendicular to the axis of said 5 6 sleeve, and a spring clip fitting into said slots and overlying References Cited by the Examiner the edjacent part of the bracket and restraining the bnacket UNITED STATES PATENTS against rotatlon about the axis of said second mentloned 1 084 375 /191 Swim m 240 53 l and l l 1 d extendin fro the lam so ket r e s eeve a amp cor g P c 1,865,758 7/1932 Horton 240-101 X through the swivel :and upright and projecting through 5 the base plate, said skirt having a plurality of frangible 17 3/1952 stone 240-73 X knockouts that may be ruptured to receive the lamp cord. NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTRIC LAMP COMPRISING A SUPPORT THAT INCLUDES A BASE AND AN UPRIGHT, THE BASE AND UPRIGHT EACH BEING UNITARY HOLLOW PIECES, SAID BASE HAVING A TOP WALL, SAID TOP WALL HAVING AN OPENING FOR RECEIVING ONE END OF THE UPRIGHT AND SAID ONE END OF THE UPRIGHT HAVING A FLANGE ADJACENT TO SAID TOP WALL AND TO THE OPENING, A PLATE, AND FASTENING MEANS PROJECTING INTO THE BASE AND THROUGH THE PLATE AND SAID FLANGE FOR SECURING THE BASE, PLATE, AND UPRIGHT TOGETHER, THE OTHER END OF SAID UPRIGHT INTEGRALLY INCLUDING A SOCKET, A SWIVEL HAVING A PAIR OF HOLLOW COMPANION MEMBERS, ONE OF THE MEMBERS BEING HELD IN THE SOCKET BY THE FRICTIONAL INTERFIT BETWEEN THE EXTERIOR OF THE SLEEVE AND THE MATERIAL OF THE SOCKET, A SHADE-SUPPORTING BRACKET ADAPTED TO SUPPORT AT LEAST ONE LAMP SHADE AND A LAMP SOCKET RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID BRACKET, MEANS FOR SECURING THE BRACKET TO THE OTHER MEMBER OF THE SWIVEL. SAID MEANS INCLUDING A SPRING CLIP THAT ENGAGES SAID OTHER MEMBER TO RESTRAIN THE BRACKET FROM ROTATION RELATIVE TO SAID OTHER MEMBER, AND A LAMP CORD EXTENDING FROM THE LAMP SOCKET THROUGH THE SWIVEL AND UPRIGHT AND PROJECTING THROUGH THE BASE PLATE. 